Boston has no blanket mandatory spay-neuter ordinance, but every dog or cat adopted from Boston Animal Care and Control must be sterilized before release under MGL Ch. 140 §139A and city policy.
Massachusetts statewide law (MGL Ch. 140 §139A) requires any dog or cat released from a public shelter or municipal pound to be sterilized prior to transfer or under a deposit-and-voucher program ensuring sterilization within 30 days for adults and prior to six months of age for younger animals. Boston Animal Care and Control follows this rule and partners with the Animal Rescue League of Boston and MSPCA-Angell for low-cost spay-neuter clinics. Boston does not impose a blanket sterilization mandate on privately owned pets, but unaltered dogs pay higher annual licensing fees under Boston Code Ch. 16-1.9.
Adopters who fail to sterilize a shelter-released animal forfeit any deposit and may be barred from future adoptions; intact dog license fees are roughly triple altered fees.
Boston, MA
Boston does not require cat licenses, but cats must be vaccinated against rabies under MGL Ch. 140 §145B. Owners are liable for damage their cats cause and A...
Boston, MA
Boston does not require microchipping privately owned pets, but every dog and cat adopted, redeemed from impound, or licensed through Animal Care and Control...
See how Boston's mandatory spay/neuter rules stack up against other locations.
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